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Gage let out a howl and dove for it, coming down hard on the rotted
timbers. As Jesse grabbed the guy wires and pulled himself back onto the
bridge, he heard the timber give way next to him and saw Gage fall.
Jesse scrambled to his feet and rushed over to where Gage had dropped over
the edge. Gage had managed to grab hold of one of the girders with his free
hand as he went over. He now dangled by one arm, his prize, the ledger, in the
other hand.
"Let go of the ledger," Jesse called to him as he laid on his belly and
reached down to take Gage's hand. He could see that Gage's fingers were
slipping on the rusted metal. "Drop the ledger and give me your hand!"
Gage's pupils were huge. He glanced down at the roaring river far below
him, then up at Jesse. With great reluctance, he released the ledger. It
fluttered down like a dried leaf to the water below.
Gage started to lift his free hand toward Jesse's but it was too late. His
hold on the metal gave. He fell, his scream finally drowned out as he
disappeared like the ledger into the turbulent water.
Jesse let out a curse. As he got to his feet, he turned to look at Amanda.
She stood staring over the edge after Gage, the piece of pipe in her hand, a
look of shock still on her face.
"He never had Susannah," she said, her voice a whisper. "He never even knew
where she was."
Jesse pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. "It's all right.
We'll find her." But suddenly he felt numb with fear: why hadn't the real
kidnapper demanded a ransom?
Chapter Fifteen
Jesse didn't know how long he stood on the bridge holding her. For a long
time, she felt like a granite statue in his arms. Then she began to soften and
tremble, then shake. The sobs rose as if coming from someplace deep inside
her. He wrapped her in his arms and waited for the storm to pass, not knowing
what else to do.
When she stopped crying, she quickly wiped her eyes and stepped from his
arms. He saw the determination and strength come back into her.
"Amanda, something is wrong with all this," he said, when he was sure she
was ready to hear it. "Why hasn't there been a request for a ransom?"
She stared at him in confusion, then shook her head. "I thought there had
been. But if Gage was telling the truth& "
Jesse nodded. "Then there never was a ransom demand." Did that mean that
whoever had taken
Susannah didn't want anything from the Crowes? Suddenly he felt the hair on
the back of his neck stand straight up. A chill skittered across his skin. He
shivered as if he'd stepped on a grave. Maybe he had.
"Amanda, remember what Molly said about Roxie's baby? About it being God's
will, conceived in sin, the son of evil."
She nodded.
"Jesse, what are you saying?"
"Molly said Frank found out who the father was by tracking down the jeweler
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who made the hearts. J.B. had the hearts made. Wasn't that what you told me?"
"You think Frank thought J.B. was the father of Roxie's baby?"
He nodded. "Amanda, the man who grabbed your baby in the department store,
could he have been Frank Pickett?"
She could only stare at him.
"It's a long shot," he told her as he quickly ushered her from the bridge
toward the van. "If there was no ransom, no demand for money or favors or
evidence, then why kidnap your daughter? Unless it was revenge. I know I'm
probably crazy, but I think we'd better go talk to Molly Pickett again. Maybe
we'll get lucky and her husband Frank will be home from fishing."
It was dark by the time they reached Molly Pickett's apartment. This time a
half dozen men loitered on the front steps, but Jesse didn't offer them money
as he shoved his way past, drawing Amanda in his wake.
Jesse laid on the buzzer, but no one answered. He tried the door. To his
surprise and uneasiness, it wasn't locked. "Molly?" he called as he pushed the
door open and stepped inside.
Only one light glowed in the living room, a small desk lamp next to the
phone. Otherwise, the room was pitch-black. He snapped on the overhead living
room light. "Molly?"
No sound. Moving slowly, he searched the small two-bedroom apartment. It
was empty. Worse, it appeared Molly had left in a hurry. The crust for the pie
she'd been making was still curled around the rolling pin where it had been
earlier. The apples, all neatly sliced in the bowl, had turned dark gray.
He glanced at Amanda. She motioned to the desk lamp. In the circle of gold
light, the phone book lay open, the phone next to it.
Amanda moved to the desk. Jesse followed her. The yellow pages were open to
the F's. Firewood. Fireworks. First Aid Supplies. Fish and Seafood. Fishing
Consultants. Fishing Resorts. Fishing Tackle and Supplies.
"Wait a minute," Jesse said, remembering the photo of Roxie and her father
in front of a fishing lodge. He moved to the wall of photographs. Behind him,
he heard Amanda pick up the phone, then the sound of the line being redialed.
"I'm going to try the redial button," Amanda said. "Maybe Molly tried to call
him after we left."
He found what he was looking for. The wooden sign over the cabin door with
the words carved in it, Woodland Lake Resort. Behind him he heard the distant
voice on the speaker phone say, "Good evening, Woodland Lake Resort."
"Woodland Lake," Jesse said with a curse as Amanda hung up the phone. "Red
River is between here and the lake."
"Oh, my God, Jesse."
He nodded, that cold chill turning to ice as it moved like a glacier up his
spine. "Frank Pickett. Molly said he was there at the birth. He must have been
the one who left me beside the road."
"No wonder Molly was upset," Amanda gasped. "She really believed you were
dead."
"Until I showed her the heart pendant."
"Oh, God. Jesse, she must have gone up to the lake when he didn't come home
tonight. She thinks he has Susannah!"
"So do I."
They scrambled out of the building and down the steps to the van.
Fortunately, all four tires were still attached as they leapt in. Jesse
started the engine and popped the clutch, praying they could reach Woodland
Lake in time, praying this wasn't just some wild-goose chase.
Woodland Lake Resort sat at the edge of the lake, a large old log lodge
with boat docks, rooms and a restaurant. Amanda stayed in the van while Jesse
ran in to ask how to get to Frank Pickett's cabin. She could only assume
either Frank didn't have a phone at the cabin or he hadn't been answering it
when Molly had called, so she'd called the resort looking for him.
Amanda sat perfectly still, trying to remain calm. She'd had such high
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hopes earlier on the bridge, now it was hard to hope at all. She was still [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]